Blood of Two Crowns (Hallowed Fates #2)

Chapter 17

Chapter

Seventeen

MALEKAI

T he vision the well had shown, while deeply unsettling and not entirely clear, wasn’t anything I hadn’t anticipated. Miroslav had already foretold my fate, even if this was somewhat different than what he had described.

What I hadn’t anticipated was witnessing the soon-to-be crowned King shaking with both fury and despair as watery emotion cut through his anguish, and he turned to Miroslav.

“Take me to Zurie,” Nakoa growled in a voice that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. Miroslav gave him a pitying look. “They’re in Ishra. No one gets into Ishra unless they’re invited.”

A snarl ripped from my throat. “ Fold me near their border.”

A blanket of violent, madness-inducing fog encompassed their borders and their shores, preventing anyone from entering uninvited. Shrouded in mystery, it was supposedly the most peaceful continent in all of Bellorum.

Compassion tugged at Miroslav’s frown. “You know that isn’t possible. You won’t make it 100 feet past it once the madness seeps in, then how will you get Mareina back?”

A vein in Nakoa’s forehead bulged. “Then I need you to bring me to Mors.”

Miroslav frowned, eyes narrowing with confusion for the first time in the near century I’ve known him. “Mors?”

If we weren’t in such dire circumstances, I might have laughed.

“Mors is her father.”

Miroslav’s lips parted as several emotions passed over his face: shock, realization and understanding, embarrassment.

“Well, as I’ve told you before, it is no simple feat to locate a god without their permission. Especially one as powerful as Mors.”

Judging by the look on Nakoa’s face, he wanted to tear Miroslav limb from limb. Before he could attempt to do so, Miroslav heaved a sigh.

“… But I shall continue to try my best.”

My eyes burned, swelling with rebellious tears—a mirror to Nakoa’s own—as I watched him unravel.

“I cannot fathom waiting a moment longer.”

Miroslav gave his head a grim shake. “You have no other choice.”